The monthly journal, Molecular and Cellular Proteomics (MCP), has made an article published by Nobel Laureate Dr. Andrew Z. Fire available free to the public on its website (www.mcponline.org). The article, which appears in the November issue of the journal, is entitled "A Differential Cytolocalization Assay for Analysis of Macromolecular Assemblies in the Eukaryotic Cytoplasm."
Dr. Fire was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Dr. Craig C. Mello for their discovery of RNA interference (RNAi). In the MCP paper, Fire and colleagues report on their development of an assay that allows them to observe the interactions between proteins in vivo.
The researchers tested the assay in C. elegans, using it to probe interactions among proteins involved in RNA interference (RNAi) and nonsense mediated decay (NMD) pathways. Several previously documented interactions were confirmed with the assay, and many new ones were observed. Fire et al. also used the assay to test a subset of the RNAi and NMD interactions in animals mutant for proteins central to each mechanism, and were able to identify several key associations that occurred in the improperly functioning processes.
MCP is published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The publication consists of original articles and short reviews that deal with the structural and functional properties of proteins and their expression, particularly with respect to development. It has an emphasis placed on determining how the presence or absence of proteins affects biological responses and how the interaction of proteins with relevant cellular partners allows them to function. MCP was ranked #1 in the category of Biochemical Research Methods by Thomson ISI's Journal Citation Report.
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with over 11,000 members in the United States and internationally. Most members teach and conduct research at colleges and universities. Others conduct research in various government laboratories, nonprofit research institutions, and industry.
Founded in 1906, the Society is based in Bethesda, Maryland, on the campus of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. The Society's primary purpose is to advance the sciences of biochemistry and molecular biology through its publications, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Lipid Research, Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, and the holding of scientific meetings.
For more information about ASBMB, see the Society's website at www.asbmb.org.
Journal
Molecular & Cellular Proteomics